A Year of Change

This morning at 8;45 Ty has to be in Eagle for a climbing tournament. Then he’ll be studying for finals which start Monday. Not sure if I mentioned that Jag received his PSAT scores. He was over 1200 out of 1520 which put him above the 90% in the Country. This was all without any tutoring which everyone does now. Everyone from his college counselor to the doctors at Lori’s work were amazed. The only one not so shocked was Jag who expected it and says he can do better. Should have known, ha.

Jag went to Emma’s after school and they brought him home at 11 last night. We went to Danika’s going away party as she’s going to nursing school in Denver at the beginning of the year. Her boyfriend Zach’s grandpa graduated from DU with Dad! Talk about a small World. He recognized the name that somehow came up in conversation and asked if we were related to Ivan Fugate, wow. He’s a judge in Denver.

That’s is as we need to leave in 35 minutes. We still have Christmas stuff to do but have Lori’s Christmas party tonight. I’d rather watch the Broncos! God Bless.

Ten days until Christmas Eve. Throw in Jag’s and Tommy’s birthday and a week of finals along with a going away party tonight for one of Lori’s girls and the company Christmas party tomorrow for the hospital and we’re busy! I had a great meeting yesterday in Denver with my new distributor and am excited to have two companies now selling for me.

Jag has surgery a week from today which sadly we’re going to have to pay for as our insurance deductible starts over every December 1st! We have a surprise coming up for Jag’s birthday, we’re all taking a trip in February to a place the boys really want to go. Can’t tell you what or where but we will as we get closer.

6:48 now so time to get the boys moving. Hope everyone is well, take care, be safe and God bless.

December 12th marks the 12 days of Saint Nick nights. Both boys put their shoes out which we alwaysbdid as a kid. Ty left a note asking for some Yu Gi Oh cards and then told Santa, “p.s. keep up the good work”! How cool is that!

It’s now 7 and I should be on the road so time to go, have a great day, I’ll add more later, GB

Everytime you fly in and out of San Francisco, it seems you’re delayed. Yesterday was no exception. Finally I landed just before 8 pm which put me home at 10. There were lots of people though that missed their connections so I’m not complaining. Plus again, I was in First. So it was a long but successful trip that lasted 36 hours.

Today I have a meeting in Denver around 1o and tomorrow another one. Both boys need to get moving as they can’t be late again. Finals are next week, Jag has surgery a week from Friday and Ty has a climbing tournament on Saturday. Looks like Jag is done with basketball until at least February if not for the season. It’s almost 7 so time to go. Hope all’s well, be safe, be smart and take care, GB.

After a few delays, I landed in San Francisco around 2:30 in the afternoon. My California employee Hans picked me up and we headed straight up to Santa Rosa in wine country. Now if you have to go to California, Santa Rosa is not a bad place to go. It’s small and quiet with nice little shops and restaurants. We met up with Brian (my partner) and headed out for a work dinner until about 9. Then I headed to bed and slept pretty well. I’m in the Hyatt Regency which has really good beds!

Now for the news of the day. On Sunday Jag showed me his hands making two fists saying “look how my knuckles are different”. Of course I didn’t think anything of it but after x-rays yesterday, he’s having surgery next Friday! Apparently his tendon has slipped off his knuckle or something. Dr. Viola is the best hand surgeon there is so he knows what he’s talking about. He has finals next week and wants to wait so he can write well but then will go under the knife on his right hand, I can’t believe it. This of course means he’ll be out of basketball for most of the season returning around the beginning of February if at all, ugh. This means don’t buy him any gloves for Christmas!

My coffee and fresh farm eggs and toast just arrived so time to eat. All I really care about is the coffeee though. My meeting is at 10 and then I’ll drive back to the airport at noon for my 3:30 flight to Denver. This puts me in around 7 and home by about 9 pm. It’s super foggy here and will take until around noon until it burns off. You can barely see outside in the city. I could never live here! Have a great day, take care and 2 weeks until Christmas! God Bless.

I remember is the 70’s when all of us wanted to go to California. Beaches, sand, sun, girls and more were there. At 17, Jon Newmark, Dave Vidrick, Julie and I headed out on a road trip in a van for San Diego. It was everything we thought it would be and more, what fun. I remember we made it to I-70 and Colfax before we broke down. Eventually we did make it though. Then in the late 70’s I moved to Ocean Beach, a suburb of San Diego, it too was fun. Sometime in the decades in between, it all turned to shit. Now I dread going there, even for an overnight meeting. Anyhow off I go to Santa Rosa up by Napa. My flight is around noon and I land at 1 or so in San Francisco and will head straight up into wine country. I should be home by 7 pm tomorrow night. At least I’m in First Class. I really try not to fly Coach anymore if I can help it.

I need to get moving so I can take Harley to daycare and get back to take the boys to school. Lori will be off to work and Jag has no practice today, thankfully. Tomorrow he has a 6:30 am practice which Lori will need to get him to. Both boys have lots of studying to do as finals start next week. Jag went to dinner last night with Emma and her family. They picked him up around 6 and he was home by 8. They like him of course. I think we’ll invite them on our sleigh ride on the 22nd. We rented a horse drawn sleigh that holds like 18 people and they also serve us a cowboy dinner out at 4 Eagle Ranch complete with a fire and s’mores! Should be fun!

That’s it, time to run, have a great day, be safe and God Bless.

Lori will be boarding her flight in a few hours and then land in Denver a little after 11 this morning. Jag and Ty both arrived within 30 minutes of each other at school last night from their tournaments. Jag’s team won a few and lost a few and ended up 4th out of 8 teams in the tournament. Ty did well and we think one of his teammates won the overall comptetion. After we made it home we all watched a funny movie before heading to bed.

Today is also Dad’s birthday. I’m sure he and Mom are going to dinner or something. Wish we could celebrate with them.

I cleaned a bunch and will finish it up by washing the sheets this morning. Then tomorrow I’m on a plane and again on Tuesday and then we’re all done, I hope, for the year. It warmed up around her and the snow was melting a bunch yesterday. More warm weather to come but snow is back on Wednesday. That’s it, time to run, hope all’s well. God Bless.

Today Ty has a climbing tournament in Grand Junction. For those of you not up to speed, that’s indoor rock climbing. He’s on the VMS Team, Go Gore Rangers! Speaking of the Gore Range, check out this picture, I was driving so it’s a little blurry. 

I’m staying home cleaning before both boys arrive sometime this afternoon. Jag and the team won yesterday and play again today, hope they do well. Lori is still hanging out with her Mom and comes home tomorrow. Then on Monday I’m off to California, Napa, for one night.

No snow last night, just a slight dusting. Ty and I had sushi and hung out and watched a movie. I might wrap some presents today, we’ll see, ho ho ho! God Bless.

Lori’s in California, Jag’s somewhere in northeast Colorado and Ty and I are here keeping an eye on the dogs and house. He cleaned his room a bit and then we tuned up the guitars and messed around for a bit between homework and laundry. Today he has climbing club practice before the tournament in Grand Junction tomorrow. His climbing shoes are a little small as he’s now an 11 1/2 so I nee to exchange them at REI today. I also bought him 2 pair of tennis shoes for Christmas (don’t tell him!) that’ll need to go back as well. I ordered him some Nikes last night in the correct size.

More snow last night but I think the next 4 or 5 days are supposed to be clear. Lori and Dixie hung out and I think are going to the doctor today. Hope they have fun the next few days. That’s it, time to get moving, dogs are fed, car is warming up and I need to wake Ty in 15 minutes as he wants to stop at Westside (the boys favorite place) for a bagel and cream cheese. Jag and the team lost their first game last night but have more today and tomorrow so they’re not out of it yet. Be safe, take care and God Bless.

That’s how long I have to write the blog this morning. You see Lori is going to Sacramento, Harley to daycare, Jag to school (and then he leaves at 2:30 for a basketball tournament in Keensburg north of Brighton until Saturday) and Ty to school. Mojo needs a walk up the hill, I need to shower and get my stuff together like some elk from the freezer for a couple buddy’s in town.

We had a dusting last night which doesn’t need to be shoveled. I cooked a prime rib that actually turned out ok and some presents for Ali finally made it after 2 failed attempts. Hard to believe it’s the 6th, time is flying.

President Bush’s funeral was really nice. I heard a lot of it on the radio while driving. It brought us back to a time of compromise and working together rather than the “resist” culture of the democrats these days. Senator Alan Simpson, who dad knew well, was great at the ceremony. President Bush was probably the last great President of the 20th century. He was a war hero, a Vice Presidnet, the Director of the CIA and more. Most of all he was a kind man of faith and a great father. It doesn’t seem we have leaders ( what politicans are supposed to be) like that any more. I was talking to a buddy and wondering if those days are gone forever. Hope not.

Time to run, its 6:34 so I ran over 4 minutes. Hope all’s well, enjoy the season. Stop to think what it’s all about, peace on earth and love for your fellow man. Be kind, generous, humble and honest. Take care and God Bless.